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The location is Pecos, Texas. Derelict Pecos Valley Southern GE 70-tonner # 8 sits in
the sun late in the morning of March 24, 2002. An eastbound UP freight is approaching in the
background on UP's former Texas & Pacific line between Fort Worth and El Paso.
I took this during my family's trip out west (to west Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona) in
March. I hadn't shot the Pecos Valley Southern in a few years, and I was thinking it would be
cool to get a photo of a UP train passing a PVS unit, just to see what a juxtaposition of
the two lines would look like. A few years ago I was on the Texas Gonzales & Northern
down in Harwood, Texas, and I attempted a few similar shots (of UP trains passing the TXGN
switcher) that didn't turn out as well. But I was pleased with how this one turned out.
I can't think of much else to say about this image other than I like the "feeling" it
conveys about decaying relics of another era of railroading (note the # 8's broken
windows and peeling paint, and also the old loading dock in the foreground) while a train of a financially-healthy Class One zips by in the background.
Taken with Canon EOS-3 body and 28-70 f-2.8 lens on either Sensia or Provia film. Scanned
by a local professional lab (BWC Photo in Dallas) to a Kodak photo cd. Edited with Paint
Shop Pro.
Incidentally, this was the first image I submitted to the Trainorders.com Image Library when
Todd got it up and running last month. It received fairly high marks there... but what do you
guys think?
WSC
| Critiques |
|---|
Sam Reeves:
Here is a great framing job by Wes. Mainline power versus shortline
power. At first I wondered why the wooden ramp was included in the
scene, but then I thought about it. That ramp tends to give character
to the scene. Some of the girders are not placed evenly, some are
missing chunks, but it all points to that shortline feel. Plus its nice
not to have to see a sparkling clean locomotive. The grit and rust also
bring lots of character to the little GE tonner . Great Texas WARP shot
by Wes.
Steve Crise:
Nice shot! Also tells a little story of old and new. I was wondering if you
use a polarizer when you shoot. A little over saturation might have made the
contrast a bit more exciting by adding a rougher look to it. I might have
tried (if possible) a shot of the passing train through the broken window of
the cab of the GE. A little flash fill to light up the inside of the cab and
who knows...of course that would have been trespassing now wouldn't it. Or to
emphasize the hopelessly stationary position of the 70 toner, I might have
put my camera on a tri pod and cranked down the stop to f 32 and let the UP
train go to a blur. These are just some ideas on how I might have exploited
the opportunity had I been there.
Mike Johannessen:
This is a fairly decent shot, but I think it could have been better. The UP
train is very small. I would have probably included just the cab of the
switcher and shot the picture when the UP train was closer -- over on the
right in your photo. I might also have used either a wide-angle or telephoto
lens, depending on how I felt, to emphasize or de-emphasize the distance
between the switcher and the UP train. It might also have worked if I did
the same thing, but photographed the last few cars of the UP train. Maybe a
little bit of blur would have been in order so as to suggest movement of the
UP train. You'd also gain depth of field, keeping the switcher (or the UP
train, depending on your focus point) sharper. However, it's not really THAT
bad. I like it when somebody can turn one of these almost-roster-shot-like
wedgies into an interesting photo. If you get a chance, I think it would be
an interesting experiment to go back and try some of the things I suggested
(provided you don't think they're completely stupid, of course).
Paul Birkholz:
I like the depth of this image quite a bit. At first glance I went from
the left of the image and the switcher cab and ended at the three units of
the UP train. My eye always leads to them too, which I am not sure if that
is good or bad. I think this photo is a good example of your narrative or
comparing the two rail lines and would work quite well in an article about
such. I would have not shot this any differently. Another shot could have
been from the side with all or part of the PVSR switcher and the UP train
behind.
Frank Caron:
What I like about this image is again the theme of old vs. new. A worn
out diesel engine that served it's purpose sitting among the weeds
looking on as new and powerful diesels pass by. The weeds, rusty rail
and worn down GE are all dynamic elements that make this a good image.
I wouldn't change a thing.
or
Sam Reeves
Steve Crise
MDJ
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